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LENGTHENING    LIFE 
THROUGH  LEGISLATION 

[Progress  Made  in  Vital  Statistics  Registration  Laws  in   19 13 


Report  of  Health  Committee 
The  Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents 


"Reforms  are  the  fruits  of  painstaking 
labor  and  mutual  compromise,  and  of  ad- 
vancing step  by  step;  they  do  not  springlike 
Minerva  full  grown  from  the  head  of  Jupiter." 

— Bismarck 


•  •  •  1 

•  •  ♦ 

•  ••  •  » 


Submitted  at  the  Seventh  Annual  Meeting  of 

THE  ASSOCIATION  OF  LIFE  INSURANCE  PRESIDENTS 

at  New  York,  December  12,  1913 


The  Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents 

1  Madison  Ave.,  New  York 

OFFICERS 
ROBERT    LYNN    COX, 

GENERAL    COUNSEL    AND    MANAGER. 

ALFRED   HURRELL,   attorney. 
J.   J.    BRINKERHOFF,    actuary. 

GEORGE  T.    WIGHT,   secretary. 

ORLOW  H.   BOIES,   statistician. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  HEALTH    COMMITTEE 

JESSE   R.   CLARK  FREDERIC  WILLIAM  JENKINS,    Chairman 

W.    A.    DAY  JESSE   R.   CLARK 

FORREST    F.    DRYDEN  WILLIAM    FREDERICK  DIX 

SYLVESTER    C.    DUNHAM  J.    L.    ENGLISH 

HALEY   FISKE  JOHN   K.   GORE 

ALFRED   D.    FOSTER  DR.    AUGUSTUS    S.    KNIGHT 

L.   G.   FOUSE  EDGAR  S.   SCOTT 
GEORGE  E    IDE 
CHARLES  A.  PEABODY 
ROBERT  LYNN  COX,  Chairman  ex-officio 

COMPANIES   REPRESENTED    IN    THE   ASSOCIATION 

yETNA  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY Hartford,  Conn. 

AMERICAN  CENTRAL  LIFE   INSURANCE 

COMPANY Indianapolis,  Ind. 

BANKERS  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY   OF 

NEBRASKA Lincoln,  Neb. 

BERKSHIRE  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY Pittsfield.  Mass. 

CANADA  LIFE  ASSURANCE  COMPANY Toronto,  Canada 

THE   COLONIAL  LIFE  INSURANCE   COMPANY   OF 

AMERICA Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

COLUMBIAN   NATIONAL   LIFE   INSURANCE 

COMPANY Boston,  Mass. 

THE  EQUITABLE  LIFE  ASSURANCE  SOCIETY. ..  .New  York,  N.  Y. 
THE  FIDELITY   MUTUAL  LIFE   INSURANCE 

COMPANY Philadelphia,  Pa. 

THE  FRANKLIN  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY Springfield,  111. 

THE  GERMANIA  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY. ..  .New  York,  N.  Y. 

HOME  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY New  York,  N.  Y. 

ILLINOIS  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY Chicago,   111. 

MANHATTAN  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY New  York,  N.  Y. 

METROPOLITAN  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY.  ..  .New  York,  N. 'Y. 
THE  MUTUAL  LIFE   INSURANCE   COMPANY   OF 

NEW  YORK New  York,  N.  Y. 

NATIONAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY   OF  THE 

UNITE-9  .STATES^  OF,.AM£RICA Chicago,   111. 

NEW   ENGLAND   MVTUki\WFE   INSURANCE 

COMPANY  ^^  .,.:;. -.. Boston.  Mass. 

N0RTH.'A2\igR'l€/iS  iilFErA'SSygANCE  COMPANY.  .Toronto,  Canada 
THE  PACIFIC*  MUTUAL**LlFfe* "INSURANCE 

COMPANY Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

THE  PRUDENTIAL  INSURANCE  COMPANY Newark,  N.  J. 

SECURITY  MUTUAL  LIFE  INSURANCE 

COMPANY Binghamton,  N.  Y. 

THE  TRAVELERS  INSURANCE  COMPANY Hartford,  Conn. 

THE  UNION  CENTRAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY,  Cincinnati,  O. 
THE  UNITED  STATES  LIFE  INSURANCE 

COMPANY New  York,  N.  Y. 

THE   VOLUNTEER   STATE  LIFE   INSURANCE 

COMPANY  .\  ;•.:.... Chattanooga,  Tenn. 


:^^.^VOu^^'^^^:'/isL 


LENGTHENING  LIFE   THROUGH  LEGISLATION 

To  the  Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents — 

Your  Health  Committee  in  its  report  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Association,  held  in  December,  191 2,  made  the  statement  that  the 
most  valuable  asset  of  a  man,  a  family  or  a  community,  is  good 
health  ;  that  diseases  which  a  few  years  ago  constituted  well  grounded 
cause  for  alarm  have  been  brought  under  subjection  by  medical 
science;  that  such  scientific  knowledge  cannot  be  advantageously 
made  use  of  without  reliable  vital  statistics.  To  that  end  your  Com- 
mittee recommended  that  this  Association  render  all  the  assistance 
within  its  power  to  secure  the  passage  and  enforcement  of  proper 
and  necessary  laws  for  the  registration,  preservation  and  compilation 
of  vital  statistics,  in  those  states  not  included  within  the  recognized 
registration  area. 

In  pursuance  of  such  recommendation,  this  Association,  early  in 
the  year,  prepared  and  published  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Birth  and 
Death  Bookkeeping."  This  little  booklet  was  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  the  staflF  officers  of  our  Association,  and  your  Committee 
desires  to  take  this  opportunity  to  commend  both  the  subject  matter, 
and  the  exceedingly  attractive  way  in  which  it  is  presented. 

One  year  ago  only  twenty-two  States  were  included  in  the  regis- 
tration area  recognized  by  the  Federal  Government.  A  number  of 
the  States  had  adopted  the  Model  Law,  although  they  had  not  yet 
been  admitted  to  the  registration  area.  Three  States  had  no  vital 
statistics  laws. 

The  following  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  most  important  vital 
statistics  legislation  of  the  present  year: 

Bills  Introduced  hit  not  Passed 

Georgia :  Model  bill  was  introduced  and  passed  first  and 
second  reading  in  the  House,  failing  on  account 
of  the  short  session  of  the  Legislature.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  an  acceptable  bill  will  be  passed  next 
year. 

Illinois:       Two   bills — the    Model   Bill   and   a    Committee 
Bill — were  introduced,  but  as  hereinafter  stated, 
neither  one  became  a  law. 
I 

281566 


2  "   '  LEV^THtVl^G    LIfe    through    LEGISLATION 

Iowa:  The   Model   Bill   was   introduced   in   the   Iowa 

Legislature  with  indorsement  of  the  State  Board 
of  Health,  but  was  not  passed. 

South  Carolina:  A  bill  was  introduced  providing  for  the 
county  system,  but  failed  of  passage.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  Model  Bill  will  be  introduced  at 
the  next  session  of  the  Legislature. 

Amendments  to  Model  Law 

Kansas :  Passed  amendments  to  Model  Law  providing  for 
a  sufficient  number  of  local  registrars  in  rural 
districts. 

Michigan :  A  slight  change  was  made  in  the  method  or  con- 
dition of  payment  of  physicians  and  midwives 
for  reporting  births. 

Minnesota:  The  law  was  recast  to  conform  more  to  the 
Model  Law  in  regard  to  responsibility  of  local 
registrars,  the  result  being  a  satisfactory  law. 

Ohio:  The  Model  Law  was  amended  so  as  to  overcome 

the  difficulty  of  birth  registration  resulting  from 
Supreme  Court  decision. 

Washington :  The  only  change  was  an  amendment  provid- 
ing for  a  sufficient  number  of  local  registrars 
in  rural  districts. 

Passage  of  Model  Law,  or  a  Law  under  which  Necessary  Rules  and 
Regulations  for  Registration  may  he  Adopted 

Arkansas :  Condensed  law  providing  for  the  registration  of 
births  and  deaths,  by  means  of  rules  and  regu- 
lations in  conformity  with  the  Model  Law. 

New  York:  The  Model  Bill  was  substituted  for  the  law 
formerly  in  effect,  with  necessary  adaptation  to 
the  legislative  code  of  the  State. 

North  Carolina:  In  North  Carolina,  which  has  been  regis- 
tering only  in  municipalities  of  500  population, 
and  over,  the  Model  Law  providing  for  regis- 
tration of  births  and  deaths  was  passed,  al- 
though an  eleventh  hour  amendment  eliminating 
the  requirement  for  burial  permits  except  in  mu- 
nicipalities of  500  population  and  over,  impairs 
the  efficiency  of  the  Statute. 

Tennessee:  The  Model  Law  was  passed  practically  in  its 
entire  form,  only  slight  adjustments  being  made 
to  conform  to  certain  State  requirements. 


LENGTHENING    LIFE    THROUGH    LEGISLATION  3 

By  referring  to  the  map  in  colors  printed  on  the  last  page  of  the 
cover  of  this  Committee's  report  made  at  the  last  annual  meeting, 
and  to  the  report  herein  contained  on  legislation  in  191 3,  it  will  be 
seen  that  one-third  of  those  States  in  the  lowest  classification  of  1912 
now  have  good  laws,  leaving  four  States  only  in  this  classification  to- 
ward which  the  special  efforts  of  this  Association  and  all  other  asso- 
ciations, societies  and  individuals  believing  in  and  striving  for  good 
government,  and  the  good  of  the  governed,  should  be  concentrated. 
There  are  still,  however,  a  large  number  of  States  outside  of  the  so- 
called  registration  area.  The  mere  enacting  of  a  law  does  not  bring 
a  State  within  the  registration  area  as  recognized  by  the  United 
States  Census  Bureau.  To  bring  a  State  within  such  area  the  Census 
Bureau  must  be  convinced  that  at  least  90%  of  the  deaths  are  cor- 
rectly reported  and  recorded. 

In  speaking  of  the  registration  of  deaths  on  the  standard  certificate 
of  death,  approved  by  the  United  States  Government,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  much  information  is  required  and  furnished  outside 
of  the  mere  fact  and  date  of  death ;  this  additional  information  is  of 
great  int^est  to  the  community  generally,  and  of  special  importance 
to  all  life  insurance  companies. 

The  enactment  of  good  legislation  in  every  State  cannot  be  ex- 
pected without  repeated  efforts. 

In  some  instances  the  failure  of  desirable  legislation  has  been 
caused  by  local  factional  feeling,  or  a  contest  as  to  who  should  have 
the  appointment  of  the  necessary  registration  officers;  or  the  amount 
of  the  fees  which  they  should  be  paid ;  without  any  real  opposition  to 
the  general  merits  of  the  proposed  law. 

More  significant  than  the  passage  of  new  laws,  has  been  the  ad- 
vance made  in  improving  and  extending  laws  already  upon  the  statute 
books.  Perhaps  the  most  noticeable  example  is  that  of  North  Caro- 
lina, which  this  year  extended  registration  throughout  the  entire 
State.  This  is  significant,  because  the  history  of  this  State  shows 
the  result  of  practical  efforts  toward  securing  adequate  statistics. 
The  first  law  in  North  Carolina  was  passed  in  the  year  1909,  and  pro- 
vided for  registration  in  cities  of  1,000  population  and  over.  There 
registration  was  a  simple  matter  through  the  health  organizations 
already  in  existence.  Next,  registration  was  extended  to  municipali- 
ties having  a  population  of  from  500  to  1,000.  In  the  passage  of 
both  of  these  bills  there  was  no  opposition  from  those  portions  of  the 
State  not  affected.  Finally  this  year,  as  above  stated,  a  bill  was  in- 
troduced making  registration  state-wide,  and  as  there  was  no  criticism 


4  LENGTHENING   LIFE    THROUGH    LEGISLATION 

or  opposition  coming  from  the  portions  of  the  State  where  registra- 
tion had  already  been  secured  and  made  effective,  the  actual  opposi- 
tion was  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Furthermore,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  the  extension  of  the  law  was  made  easier  by  reason 
of  its  success  in  those  places  where  it  had  been  established 
already. 

There  was,  however,  one  disappointing  occurrence  in  connection 
with  the  North  Carolina  legislation  this  year  which  spells  a  warning 
for  the  future.  At  the  last  moment  an  amendment  was  made  on  the 
floor  of  the  Legislature,  doing  away  with  the  requirement  of  the 
Model  Law  for  burial  permits,  except  in  municipalities  of  500  popu- 
lation and  over.  The  friends  of  the  bill  opposed  the  amendment 
but  it  was  carried  by  the  close  vote  of  50  to  46.  Therefore,  this  new 
law  does  not  extend  throughout  the  State  the  very  important  require- 
ment of  the  Model  Law  for  burial  permits.  It  does,  however,  pro- 
vide for  the  general  organization  of  the  work,  appointment  of  local 
registrars  and  the  registration  of  births.  The  ever-present  possibility 
of  reducing  the  efficiency  of  such  legislation  by  such  eleventh-hour 
amendments  should  lead  the  friends  of  adequate  vital  statistics  regis- 
tration laws  to  be  on  their  guard  every  moment  until  the  measures 
are  actually  enacted.  With  the  best  of  intentions  such  amendments 
may  be  very  harmful  and  defeat  the  purposes  of  the  proposed  legis- 
lation. 

Another  interesting  fact  in  connection  with  the  vital  statistics  law 
was  the  passage  the  present  year  of  the  new  Health  Law  in  New 
York  State.  New  York  had  been  recognized  as  a  registration  State 
since  1890 ;  it  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  attempt  to  secure  proper 
registration  of  both  births  and  deaths.  The  opportunity  to  put  the 
uniform  law  in  New  York  came  this  year  with  the  adoption  of  a  new 
Health  Code,  and  almost  as  a  matter  of  course  such  a  law  was  made 
part  of  that  code.  The  new  code  becomes  effective  January  i,  1914. 
We  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  although  New  York  had  what 
was  recognized  generally  as  an  excellent  registration  system,  it 
adopted  the  present  year  the  Model  Law  in  the  interest  of  greater 
uniformity.  Progress  by  the  way  of  improvement  and  extending 
registration  legislation  is  emphasized  also  by  the  amendments  to  for- 
mer laws  which  have  been  adopted  during  the  past  year,  as  noted 
above.  We  are  very  hopeful  that  the  Model  Law  will  be  adopted  by 
the  legislatures  in  at  least  three  of  the  four  States  where  defeat  was 
the  result  this  year.    Bismarck  once  said : 


LENGTHENING    LIFE   THROUGH    LEGISLATION  5 

''Reforms  are  the  fruits  of  painstaking  labor  and  mutual  compro- 
mise, and  of  advancing  step  by  step ;  they  do  not  spring  like  Minerva 
full  grown  from  the  head  of  Jupiter." 

Our  reference  to  the  very  encouraging  progress  made  the  present 
year  by  way  of  new  legislation,  as  well  as  amendments  to  old  laws, 
should  not  be  understood  as  a  recitation  of  the  things  which  this  As- 
sociation claims  to  have  accomplished  by  itself ;  but  rather  a  record 
of  the  progress  that  has  been  made  through  the  combined  efforts  of 
all  organizations  interested,  and  particularly  the  Bureau  of  Census 
and  the  American  Medical  Association.  We  believe,  however,  that  it 
will  be  recognized  generally  that  in  several  instances  this  Associa- 
tion, as  well  as  the  member  companies  composing  it,  was  able  to  ren- 
der substantial  assistance. 

Thousands  of  this  Association's  pamphlet  on  "Birth  and  Death 
Bookkeeping"  as  well  as  the  report  of  your  last  year's  Health  Com- 
mittee, entitled  "Need  for  Better  Vital  Statistics,"  were  distributed 
widely  through  those  States  in  which  efforts  were  being  made  for 
better  laws.  Large  quantities  also  of  such  literature  were  forwarded 
by  the  Association  to  different  persons  and  organizations  in  those 
States,  for  their  own  distribution.  Willing  testimony  as  to  the  ef- 
fectiveness of  our  efforts  was  received  from  many  quarters.  Dr.  W. 
S.  Rankin,  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  North  Caro- 
lina, in  writing  to  the  president  of  one  of  our  member  companies, 
after  the  successful  passage  of  their  Model  Law,  made  use  of  the 
following  language: 

"I  feel  very  deeply  grateful  to  the  Association  of  Life  Insurance 
Presidents,  particularly  your  own  Company,  and  yourself,  for  your 
cordial  and  telling  co-operation  in  securing  this  much  needed  legisla- 
tion." 

As  was  suggested  in  the  report  of  a  year  ago,  through  our  agents 
and  medical  examiners,  in  not  only  every  county,  but  in  every  town 
of  any  size,  much  work  of  this  kind  can  be  accomplished,  and  at  a 
minimum  expense. 

Since  the  year  1909,  when  this  Association  first  took  an  active  in- 
terest in  health  conservation,  and  prolongation  of  human  life,  it  has 
distributed  nearl}^  200,000  pamphlets  bearing  on  the  different  phases 
of  those  subjects.  Included  in  the  above  were  some  30,000  copies  of 
"Birth  and  Death  Bookkeeping"  and  29,000  copies  of  "Need  for 
Better  Vital  Statistics."  We  are  informed  that  requests  are  coming 
in  still  for  both  of  these  publications.    Recently  the  Secretary  of  the 


6  LENGTHENING   LIFE   THROUGH    LEGISLATION 

State  Board  of  Health  of  one  of  the  non-registration  States  wrote 
Mr.  Cox,  our  General  Counsel  and  Manager,  as  follows: 

"We  are  endeavoring  to  interest  the  General  Assembly  in  the  pas- 
sage of  a  bill  on  birth  registration,  and  I  am  getting  up  arguments  for 
a  law  for  registration  of  births  and  deaths.  Please  send  me  the  fol- 
lowing monographs — 'Birth  and  Death  Bookkeeping,'  'Need  for  Bet- 
ter Vital  Statistics'  and  'The  Influence  of  Vital  Statistics  on  Lon- 
gevity.' " 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  various  publications  and  pamphlets 
which  this  Association  has  published  on  health,  sanitation  and  vital 
statistics — the  authors  of  some  of  these  monographs  are  among  the 
best  known  experts  in  the  country. 

Economic  Aspect  of  Lengthening  Human  Life. 

A  Suggestion  Concerning  the  Increased  Longevity  of  Life 

Insurance  Policyholders. 
Proceedings  of  the  Third  Annual  Meeting,  containing  four 

diflferent  addresses  on  health  subjects. 
Work  of  the  Federal  Government  in  the  Matter  of  Health 

Conservation. 
The  Organization  of  a  Public  Health  Militia  in  the  Cause  of 

Preventive  Medicine. 
Latent  Powers  of  Life  Insurance  Companies  for  the  Detec- 
tion and  Prevention  of  Diseases. 
Movement  to  Lengthen  Life. 

Lengthening  Human  Life  as  a  Business  Proposition. 
Proceedings  of  the  Fourth  Annual  Meeting,  containing  four 

addresses  on  health  subjects. 
Report  of  Health  Committee. 
Work  of  the  Census  Bureau  in  Vital  Statistics. 
Fight  against  Preventable  Disease. 
Modern  Sanitation. 

The  Undeveloped  Field  in  the  Life  Insurance  Business. 
Health  Conservation  of  Policyholders. 
Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  containing  two 

addresses  on  health  subjects. 
Social  Engineer  in  Field  of  Public  Health. 
Gospel  of  Health  on  Wheels. 
Conservation  of  Human  Life. 
Need  for  Better  Vital  Statistics. 
The  Influence  of  Vital  Statistics  on  Longevity. 
The  Effect  of  Safe  Water  Supplies  on  the  Typhoid  Fever 

Rate. 
Proceedings  of  the  Sixth  Annual  Meeting,  containing  three 

addresses  on  health  subjects. 
Birth  and  Death  Bookkeeping. 


LENGTHENING    LIFE   THROUGH    LEGISLATION  7 

Copies  of  these  publications  and  pamphlets,  until  the  issues  are 
exhausted,  are  furnished  on  request  to  any  person  or  association  in- 
terested in  them.  In  addition  to  the  very  wide  publicity  which  has 
been  given  by  the  distribution  of  these  publications  themselves,  much 
assistance  has  been  rendered  by  the  trade  journals  and  the  daily 
press  generously  quoting  from  or  pubHshing  the  papers  read  at  our 
annual  meetings. 

In  Illinois,  where  legislation  was  much  needed  to  bring  that  State 
within  the  recognized  registration  area,  we  believe  that  the  failure 
was  caused,  first,  by  a  misunderstanding  as  to  the  merits  of  two 
separate  bills  on  that  subject ;  and,  secondly,  by  the  unfortunate  dead- 
lock in  that  State  over  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator.  Both 
the  Association,  as  such,  and  our  several  member  companies,  took 
a  deep  interest  in  the  Illinois  situation,  and  did  much  work  to  secure 
the  adoption  of  the  Model  Law.  The  bill  passed  in  the  Senate  by  the 
large  vote  of  37  to  4,  but  was  defeated  in  the  House.  We  believe 
that  the  large  amount  of  educational  work  done  during  the  past  year 
will  be  helpful  toward  the  passage  of  the  Model  Law  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Legislature,  which  will  be  in  191 5. 

In  Georgia,  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  Model  Law  failed  of  pas- 
sage was  a  somewhat  sharp  conflict  between  certain  local  people, 
which  did  not  in  any  way  concern  the  merits  of  the  measure. 

One  of  the  questions  which  is  sometimes  raised  in  opposition  to 
the  adoption  of  the  Model  Law,  is  the  fee  to  be  paid  registrars. 
Your  Committee  feels  that  where  such  a  question  is  likely  to  prove 
troublesome,  that  it  would  be  wise  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  law, 
otherwise  adequate,  and  rely  on  the  assistance  of  the  registrars, 
after  they  are  appointed,  to  secure  adequate  compensation  for  their 
work.  Another  difficulty  sometimes  experienced,  is  the  lack  of  co- 
operation, or  perhaps  it  should  more  properly  be  described  as  an- 
tagonism, existing  between  different  schools  of  medicine.  This  feel- 
ing, however,  is,  we  believe,  not  nearly  so  pronounced  as  formerly. 

As  an  indication  of  the  wide-spread  interest  in  the  activities  of 
this  Association,  and  the  success  of  its  publications,  we  could  quote 
from  many  letters  received  since  our  last  meeting. 

A  well-known  physician  in  the  West  writes : 

"I  am  well  pleased  with  this  pamphlet  ('Birth  and  Death  Book- 
keeping') and  ask  if  you  care  to  send  me  a  dozen  copies  to  hand  to 
the  M.D.s  of  this  county,  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  County 
Superintendent  of  Health.  I  find  a  number  of  my  medical  friends 
are  careless  in  reporting  these  statistics  to  my  office,  and  I  am  sure 
a  perusal  of  this  pamphlet  will  put  them  thinking." 


»  LENGTHENING    LIFE    THROUGH    LEGISLATION 

Again  he  writes: 

"The  package  of  'Birth  and  Death  Bookkeeping'  at  hand  and  dis- 
tributed. Thanks  for  same.  I  could  use  two  dozen  more  should  you 
feel  disposed  to  furnish  them.  '"  *  ^=  A  few  copies  of  'Need  for  Bet- 
ter Vital  Statistics'  would  be  thankfully  received  and  distributed." 

Copies  of  "Birth  and  Death  Bookkeeping"  were  also  requested 
by  the  National  Insurance  Commission  of  Dublin,  Ireland. 
The  State  Board  of  Health  of  Delaware  writes: 

"Would  you  kindly  let  us  know  what  you  would  charge  us  for  one 
thousand  copies  of  your  'Birth  and  Death  Bookkeeping'? 

"We  wish  to  dispose  of  them  throughout  the  State  of  Delaware, 
one  to  each  physician,  one  to  each  member  of  the  Boards  of  Health 
of  the  towns  of  the  State,  one  to  each  undertaker,  one  to  each  mu- 
nicipal officer  of  the  State,  one  to  each  principal  of  the  schools,  and 
such  other  individuals  as  we  might  believe  to  be  interested  in  such 
matters." 

A  well-known  sanitary  expert  and  educator  recently  wrote  re- 
questing a  sufficient  number  of  "Need  for  Better  Vital  Statistics"  to 
supply  each  member  of  his  class  in  Medicine,  in  a  State  University, 
saying : 

"This  seems  to  be  a  rather  large  order,  at  the  same  time  I  am  well 
acquainted  with  this  pamphlet,  and  it  is  peculiarly  appropriate  to  my 
class  of  students,  etc. 

"I  think  the  use  of  some  of  these  publications  in  connection  with 
these  teaching  purposes  would  be  not  without  its  advantages  to  the 
Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents,  since  it  does  bring  the  mat- 
ter to  the  attention  of  medical  students  in  such  a  way  as  to  strengthen 
their  understanding  of  the  problems  with  which  insurance  com- 
panies deal,  etc." 

Our  General  Counsel  and  Manager  is  now  in  correspondence  with 
the  Iowa  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  with  reference  to  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Model  Law  in  that  State  at  the  next  session  of  the 
Legislature,  Florence  Brown  Sherbon,  M.D.,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Hygiene,  under  recent  date  having  requested  some  of  our 
publications  for  use  during  the  approaching  campaign.  This  cor- 
respondence from  Iowa  is  interesting,  not  only  in  that  it  will  enable 
us,  we  trust,  to  be  of  some  assistance,  but  also  because  it  goes  to 
prove  what  this  Association  has  always  believed,  namely,  that 
women's  clubs,  if  they  will,  can  play  a  very  important  part  in  secur- 
ing desirable  legislation.  We  shall  watch  with  interest  the  approach- 
ing contest  in  Iowa,  where  failure  was  met  at  the  last  session.     A 


LENGTHENING    LIFE   THROUGH    LEGISLATION  g 

little  later  our  several  companies  will  be  requested  to  co-operate  and 
assist,  so  far  as  possible,  through  their  medical  examiners  and 
agents  in  that  State. 

We  again  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  it  is  our  duty,  as  we 
conceive  it,  to  work  in  connection  with  and  supplemental  to  local 
organizations  and  societies,  rather  than  to  appear  as  the  leader  in 
all  such  movements.  We  believe  that  this  conception  of  our  duty 
will  enable  us  to  accomplish  more  work,  and  cause  less  friction, 
both  of  which  are  desirable. 

Your  Committee  feels  that  it  is  not  within  its  province  to  make 
any  suggestions  as  to  how  our  several  companies  shall  conduct  their 
own  individual  business ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  a  pleasure  for  your 
Committee  to  heartily  commend  the  splendid  health  work  which  the 
companies  are  doing  in  different  ways.  Some  of  our  largest  com- 
panies are  spending  great  sums  of  money  each  year  for  the  benefit 
of  their  policyholders,  and  the  community  generally.  We  believe 
that  all  of  our  companies  are  co-operating  along  the  same  line,  to 
the  extent  at  least  of  special,  publications,  or  special  departments  in 
their  regular  publications. 

Dr.  Eugene  H.  Porter,  Commissioner  of  Health  of  this  State, 
in  an  address  delivered  in  Utica  at  the  recent  annual  conference  of 
the  Sanitary  Officers  of  the  State  of  New  York,  said  that  in  his 
judgment  the  time  will  come  when  the  State,  as  such,  will  be  called 
upon  to  protect  its  inhabitants  against  preventable  disease,  the  same 
as  it  is  required  to  protect  them  against  any  other  invasion  of  their 
rights ;  that  every  local  board  of  health  should  keep  books  showing 
the  state  of  health  of  the  people  within  its  jurisdiction ;  that  every 
community  should  be  able  to  tell  at  all  times  from  the  records  of 
its  health  department,  not  only  the  exact  state  of  health  of  the  com- 
munity, but  also  how  the  present  conditions  compare  with  those  of 
any  other  period,  as  well  as  to  accurately  compare  local  conditions 
with  those  in  other  communities  in  any  part  of  the  State.  Dr.  Porter 
said  that  to  make  this  possible,  and  to  bring  local  sanitary  condi- 
tions to  a  satisfactory  state,  it  was  necessary  to  educate,  educate,  and 
again  educate  the  people. 

Dr.  John  Hunter,  former  State  Health  Officer  for  the  State  of 
Mississippi,  once  said  that  a  death  from  a  preventable  disease,  was 
a  State-wide  crime. 

A  well-known  authority  has  recently  suggested  that  it  is  an  op- 
portune time  for  the  Health  Committee  of  the  Association  to  in- 
terest itself  in  another  phase  of  vital  statistics,  namely,  the  regis- 


lO  LENGTHENING    LIFE    THROUGH    LEGISLATION 

tration  of  the  communicable  diseases.  No  state  has  at  the  present 
time  adequate  legislation  or  machinery  for  collecting  of  data  with 
reference  to  the  causes  of  the  large  number  of  our  preventable 
deaths.  The  model  bill  for  reporting  morbidity  adopted  by  the  Con- 
ference of  the  State  Health  Officers  with  the  Surgeon  General  in 
Minneapolis  in  June,  1913,  should  receive  the  attention  of  the 
Health  Committee,  and  its  adoption  urged  at  least  in  one  State  to 
try  out  its  provisions.  The  Association  expects  to  give  this  subject 
careful  consideration  at  an  early  date. 

At  this  present  meeting  of  our  Association,  papers  have  been  read 
by  Dr.  Rupert  Blue,  Surgeon-General  of  the  United  States  Public 
Health  Service,  on  "The  Needed  Reforms  in  Sanitary  Administra- 
tion," by  Dr.  Victor  C.  Vaughan,  Dean,  Department  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  and  President 
of  the  American  Medical  Association,  on  "The  Doctor's  Dream," 
and  by  Prof.  William  T.  Sedgwick,  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology,  on  'The  Public  Health  Movement — To-day  and 
To-morrow." 

We  recommend  the  publication  of  these  papers  in  pamphlet  form, 
that  they  may  be  used  in  connection  with  this  Association's  work 
for  the  conservation  of  human  life. 

We  also  renew  our  recommendation  of  a  year  ago,  that  the  Asso- 
ciation give  such  assistance  as  lies  within  its  power  to  the  passage 
and  enforcement  of  proper  and  necessary  laws  for  the  registration, 
preservation  and  compilation  of  vital  statistics,  and  that  a  reasonable 
sum  of  money  be  expended  for  such  purposes. 
F.  W.  Jenkins,  Chairman, 

President,  Security  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 
J.  R.  Clark, 

President,  Union  Central  Life  Insurance 
Company,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
W.  F.  Dix, 

Secretary,  The  Mutual  Life  Insurance 

Company,  New  York  City. 
J.  L.  English, 

Vice-President,  ^tna  Life  Insurance 

Company,  Hartford,  Conn. 
John  K.  Gore, 

Vice-President  and  Actuary,  The  Pru- 
dential Insurance  Co.,  Newark,  N.  J. 


lengthening  life  through  legislation  ii 

Dr.  a.  S.  Knight, 

Medical  Director,  Metropolitan  Life 

Insurance  Company,  New  York  City. 
Edgar  S.  Scott, 

President,  Franklin  Life  Insurance 

Company,  Springfield,  111. 
Dated  December  12,  1913. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF 
The  Association  of  Life   Insurance   Presidents 


Taxation 


Injustice  and  Inequality  of  Life  Insurance  Taxation.  Report  of  Committee 
Adopted  by  National  Convention  of  Insurance  Commissioners.  August, 
1908. 

Taxation  of  Life  Insurance  in  the  United  States.  By  Robert  Lynn  Cox, 
General  Counsel  and  Manager,  Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents. 
October,  1908. 

Taxation  of  Life  Insurance  in  the  United  States.  By  John  F.  Dryden,  De- 
cember, 1908. 

Life  Insurance  Taxation  and  Legislation.  By  Haley  Fiske,  Vice-President, 
Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company.     February,  1909. 

The  Impropriety  of  Taxing  Returns  to  Life  Insurance  Policyholders.  By 
Robert  Lynn  Cox,  General  Counsel  and  Manager,  Association  of  Life 
Insurance  Presidents.     February.   1909. 

Life  Insurance  Taxation.  By  William  J.  Graham,  Vice-President  and  Ac- 
tuary, Northwestern   National   Life  Insurance  Company.     January,   1910. 

Some  Obstacles  which  Delay  the  Reform  of  Life  Insurance  Taxation.  By 
Thomas  Sewall  Adams,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy,  Washing- 
ton University.    December,  1910. 

Injustice  of  Taxation.  By  Frederic  William  Jenkins,  President,  Security 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company.    December,  191 1, 

Investments 

Compulsory  Investment  Legislation.     By  Grover  Cleveland.     March,  1907. 

The  Amortization  Plan  of  Valuing  FMxed  Term  Securities.  By  J.  J.  Brinker- 
hoff.  Secretary  of  National  Convention  of  Insurance  Commissioners  and 
Actuary  Insurance  Department  of  State  of  Illinois.     August,  1908. 

The  People's  Investments.  By  James  Laurence  Laughlin.  Ph.D.,  Professor  of 
Political  Economy,  The  University  of  Chicago.    December,  1910. 

A  Trial  Test  of  Compulsory  Investment  Legislation.  By  Robert  Lynn  Cox, 
General  Counsel  and  Manager,  Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents. 
May,  1912. 

The  Call  for  Investments.  By  Alfred  Hurrell,  Attorney,  Association  of  Life 
Insurance  Presidents.    July,  1912. 

The  Sacredness  of  Trusteeship  in  the  Investment  of  Life  Insurance  Funds. 
By  George  E.  Ide,  President,  Home  Life  Insurance  Company.  Decem- 
ber, 1912. 

Railroad  Securities  Should  be  Treated  as  Local  Investments  for  Life  Insur- 
ance Companies.  By  Walker  D.  Hines.  Chairman  Executive  Committee, 
Atchison,'  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railway.     December,  1912. 

Forty-Six  Years'  Experience  with  Farm  Loans.  By  Jesse  Redman  Clark, 
President,  Union  Central  Life  Insurance  Company.    December,   1912. 

Miscellaneous 

Modern  Co-operative  Methods  to  Meet  Modern  Tendencies  of  Government 
Control.  By  Robert  Lynn  Cox.  General  Counsel  and  Manager,  Associa- 
tion of  Life  Insurance  Presidents.     October,  1910. 

The  By-Products  of  Life  Insurance.  By  Alfred  Hurrell,  Attorney,  Associa- 
tion of  Life  Insurance  Presidents.     March,  1912. 

Group  Insurance — Its  Aims  and  Its  Field.  By  William  A.  Day,  President, 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society.     December.  1913. 

The  Ultimate  Effect  of  an  Unrestricted  Right  to  Borrow  on  Life  Insurance 
Policies.  By  Arthur  E.  Childs,  President,  Columbian  National  Life  In- 
surance Company.    December,  1913. 

Copies  of  any  of  above  zvill  be  mailed  upon  request. 


Map  Showing  Use  of 

The  Standard  Certificate  of  Death,  1913 

{Trepared  by  ^Association  of  Life  Insurance  Presidents  from  data  furnished  by  the 
Bureau  of  the  Census  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.) 


Registration  States  using  the  Standard  Certificate  and  in  which,  in  the  op: 
of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census,  at  least  90^  of  all  deaths  are  registered. 

Nonregistration  States  using  or  recommending  the  Standard  Certificate,  bi 
which  the  registration  is  below  90^,  or  in  which  the  adoption  of  the  Stai 
Certificate  has  been  too  recent  to  allow  judgment  as  to  the  completene 
registration. 

Registration  States  that  have  made  no  changes  in  certificates  since  the  adopti 
the  Standard  Certificate  in  1902;  they  still  retain  the  old  blanks  (of  exce 
form),  but  will  presumably  unite  with  the  States  using  the  Standard  Certi 
when  a  change  is  made. 

^^M^      Nonregistration  States  that  have  adopted  new  blanks  since  1902,  and  hav< 
^^^^      adopted  the  Standard  Certificate. 

II      States  left  uncolored  have  no  State  laws  (Georgia,   South   Carolina)    or  laj 
I      such  unsatisfactory  character  that  the  Standard  Certificate  could  not  be  usyd 

The  United  States  Standard  Certificate  of  Death  was  adopted  in  1962 ; 
vised  by  the  American  Public  Health  Association  and  approved  by  tKe  U 
Bureau  of  the  Census,  for  use  beginning  January  i,  1910.  / 

Prior  to  the  use  of  the  standard  blank  no  two  States  (and  har(jly  any 
cities)  in  the  United  States  had  the  same  forms.  No  uniform  instructions  c< 
be  given,  and  exact  comparability  of  returns  was  impossible. 


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